Great Expectations
Professor Changi, the resident professor of Hora's own Eden Town, was in route for Phlox Town in order to meet his colleague, Professor Huon and discuss a topic the two knew very well; Pokémon breeding. His interest in visiting Huon was inspired when a young trainer he had helped sent him over a surprising Pokémon; the legendary Darkrai itself. Entering Phlox Town, he again ran over the questions in his mind he had for Huon as he walked up to the familiar doorway of the laboratory and politely knocked. The door opened a moment later, with an assistant at the door. "Oh, Professor Changi! Professor Huon is in the lab right now. I'll tell her that you're here." He opened the door wider to allow the professor in, and was about to walk to the back when a Spheal loudly rolled towards the front. It gave a cheerful cry as the assistant noticed. "Spheal, can you tell Professor Huon that Professor Changi is here?" It harped an acknowledgment and rolled off and around the corner. The assistant looked back towards Changi. "I'd think she'll be here shortly: Professor Huon's been working for hours already." It only took a minute for Huon to come to the front entrance, with the noisy Spheal in her arms. "Professor Changi! What can I do for you?" she asked. Changi took a step into the laboratory and shut the door firmly behind him. "I'm in need of your expertise, Professor Huon." he replied in a formal tone. "This is about my research into the legendary Pokémon's ability to breed. I think a trainer of mine has made a discovery, but I thought by consulting your knowledge of egg groups and Pokémon breeding, I'd be able to confirm or deny this." Huon allowed the Spheal back to the floor and put her hands on her hips. The Spheal squealed in delight and rolled off, its plushy and round body allowing it to speed around the corner, leaving the two professors and the assistant alone. "Really? And which legendary pokémon are you referring to?" Huon asked. Changi sat his briefcase on the ground, opened it up, and removed a tiny Pokéball, which he then enlarged by pushing the button at its center. "Inside this Pokéball is the legendary Darkrai. According to the trainer who sent it to me, it was caught in Mimosa City." he explained, handing the ball to Huon. "He also mentioned that one of the locals claims that it is the offspring of a Darkrai that supposedly protects the Pokémon cemetery there. The trainer says that he believes the local man's theory, because the 'parent Darkrai' appeared to him in a nightmare; something Darkrai are known to cause." Huon looked at the pokéball that Changi gave him, in thought for a moment. She looked almost shocked that she was holding a Darkrai in her hands, taking a moment to be able to speak. "Right now, Darkrai is classified as unbreedable, and legendary pokémon are hard to obtain for studies, so I'll have to ask if I could hold onto this Darkrai for a few weeks so that I can run some tests," she finally said. "Is the owner expecting the Darkrai back any time soon?" Changi took a moment to speak, "No, he said for me to keep it for research purposes until the Caspia Conference, which is quite a ways a way, time wise. Take as much time as needed." he replied. "Fantastic," Huon smiled. "I'll hold onto him until then. This will be fabulous for my research." "It'll take some time for me to put together some data for your own studies, so are you planning on staying in Phlox Town for a day or two?" she asked. Changi nodded thoughtfully, "I am. I've arranged a room at the local Pokémon Center to keep me, and left the Nurse Joy in Eden Town in charge of helping beginning trainers while I am away." he replied. Huon opened her arms in surprise. "If you told me this in your message, I would've arranged quarters for you in the center! I can do so real quick: the center has plenty of room." The assistant at the reception desk looked away, almost as though he was expecting how the conversation was going to turn. "You can sleep at the clinic tonight," Huon pointed at the assistant in question. "You don't have any objections, right?" The assistant stammered as he attempted to reply, looking at Changi with hopeful eyes. Changi grinned and waved his hands to calm Huon down, "Now, now, there's no need for that. I do not want to impose on you and your assistants. The center will be quite comfortable for me." he replied, nervously awaiting Huon's response. Huon walked over to Changi's side, wrapping her arm around his and leaning on the other. "Come on, Professor Changi: I insist." As though to break into the scene, the Spheal from earlier rolled back into the reception, up to Huon's feet. It gave several cries in its own language, eagerly tapping Huon's feet with its flippers. Huon released her hold on Changi to kneel down to Spheal. "It's dinner time? I'll be over in a bit." She stood back up as the Spheal sped away happily, presumably towards the kitchen, returning her attention to Changi. "At least stay for dinner?" Huon asked. Changi blushed slightly when Huon grabbed him, and quickly regained his composure once she let go. He folded his arms against his chest. "Well, I suppose I could stay for dinner." he replied, trying to sound as serious as he was earlier. Huon smiled at Changi's acceptance, squeezing his arm with her free hand. "Excellent! I had wagashi prepared for today. Let's head to the cafeteria: most of my employees are probably finishing up for dinner, too," she said. "Lyle, do what you need to do there, and you can come too." The receptionist nodded, and went to work at the computer at the reception desk as the two walked into the research center, to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was relatively noisy as people were piling into the room to have dinner. Huon's Spheal was there, merrily clapping its hands as it waited for Huon to get it food. Beside the Spheal, an Octillery dully looked about the cafeteria, centering its attention on Professor Changi as he entered. As Huon made her way to the line, other researchers and workers greeted her as she passed. She greeted them in turn, piling wagashi and meat-filled buns from the buffet-style counter onto her tray. After getting her food, Huon sat down at one of the long tables, where Spheal and Octillery graciously accepted some of the food that she brought from the buffet. When Changi sat down, Huon opened the pokéball to release Darkrai. The pokémon attracted attention from nearby researchers and many spoke excitedly about the presence of the legendary pokémon. However, attention was not wholly centered on the Darkrai, allowing the two famous professors to continue their discussion. "Have you done any studies related to Darkrai?" Huon asked as she offered the Darkrai some of the food that she had. Darkrai took the food cautiously, looking it over before stuffing it in its mouth. "I've done some looking into the myths surrounding it, mainly pertaining to its nightmare capabilities. Strangely, even though this one has been at the lab for several days, I've experienced no nightmares. I'm trying to figure out whether this is a result of being in captivity, or whether Darkrai selects its victims and then uses its powers on them." Changi replied. Huon took a similar bit of food and offered that to the Darkrai, hoping for the same effect. As she did so, Spheal was clearly enjoying its meal, happily clapping and yipping. Octillery, on the other hand, was absolutely silent as it ate its food, though it paid attention to the happenings at the table. "Nice to know. Hopefully, I'll receive similar treatment that you were given by Darkrai," Huon commented half-jokingly. "Considering that I'm going to be physically examining Darkrai. Some pokémon are incredibly touchy about such close examina-..." She held the last syllable, bringing up a sleeve to sneeze into. The professor sniffed. "Sorry: hay fever is acting up again. Spheal, can you prepare some ice?" The Spheal did so in moments, using to create a small slab of freezing ice. Huon took the ice and pressed it against her forehead, her energetic expression completely drained by the sudden allergic reaction. Changi, having known Huon for sometime, knew of her bouts with hay fever, and yet, had never seen this method of treatment. "What a helpful Spheal you have there. I've never seen that move used as a treatment before." Changi said, momentarily zoning out as if in thought. "How interesting." "It helps with the fever," Huon explained, her voice indicating her draining energy. "I still need to take some pills for the other effects." Her Spheal was noticeably quieter as it watched the professor deal with her allergic symptoms, concerned over Huon's well being. It whined as it questioned Huon's status, while the Octillery remained seemingly apathetic as to the situation. "It's nothing new, Spheal. I'll be back in a minute," Huon reassured her pokémon, leaving the table while digging into her lab coat. At a corner, Huon popped some allergy pills in her mouth, drinking tea to help swallow the medicine. She stayed there for a moment, waiting for the medicine to begin taking effect before returning to the table. "Well, hay fever isn't going to keep me away from the lab. I'll get started after dinner. Perhaps my pokémon can keep you company while I get to work with Darkrai," Huon commented, returning to topic. Changi nodded, "Yes, that would be fine. I'll leave Darkrai in your care then." he replied. Darkrai looked between Changi and Huon quizzically, and then went back to eating. Changi also began eating his food, what little he had placed on his plate. Watching Changi eat, she waited until he finished food on his plate and then added more with a pair of chopsticks from her own plate. The pile of food on hers was diminishing as she fed three pokémon and herself, but there was still plenty left. Spheal went back to its clapping ceremony, adding staccatos to the din of voices. "You're going to get anorexic at that rate. Stop being so humble and eat," Huon bluntly said. "It's not like you're going to gain ten pounds on a meal of wagashi and buns." Changi looked stunned, but smiled nonetheless, "You're right, I should relax a bit." he replied. Suddenly, Changi began shoveling wagashi and buns into his mouth, taking very little time to chew it, diminishing his pile of food in moments. He stopped momentarily and pulled out a Pokéball, releasing his Pidgeot from it. "Its time for your dinner as well, isn't it?" he asked it. "Geot!" the bird replied. Changi handed it a bun and then went back to shoveling what was left into his mouth. Huon gave a smile, finishing her fill and allowing her pokémon to eat up the rest. "I'm going to get back to work," she told him, "you probably have things to do in Eden Town, so I won't make you stay longer than necessary." She gestured the Darkrai to come with her, leaving the cafeteria. She headed downstairs, where glass-enclosed lab stations lined the walls. At the far end of the basement laboratories was the largest room, with an assortment of instruments on counters and in cabinets. There was even a sink at one of the counters. "Ok, Darkrai. I'm going to perform a few tests on you. Some pokémon don't like it, so I'm warning you ahead of time so that you can at least understand that I know what I'm doing. I'm a long-time friend of Professor Changi, so don't worry," Huon warned the legendary pokémon as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. "If you are objecting to what I'm doing, just say so, alright?" Category:Episodes Category:Ten Tailed Fox Category:Articles by LaviBookman